Tag Archives: Realtors

Despite properties typically selling faster than at any time since July 2013, existing–home sales slowed in April but remained above an annual sales pace of five million for the second straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions except for the Midwest experienced sales declines in April.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single–family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co–ops, declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in April from an upwardly revised 5.21 million in March. Despite the monthly decline, sales have increased year–over–year for seven consecutive months and are still 6.1 percent above a year ago. Continue reading →

The map below displays all Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices affiliates and their location in the U.S. The La Mesa/El Cajon Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties office is located in the bottom left-hand corner of the map.

An analysis of listings data released by Realtor.com suggests that homes continued to turn over quickly in October, in defiance of seasonal patterns and in spite of price increases driven by inventory shortages in many markets.

The 1.9 million homes listed on realtor.com during October had been on the market for 94 days on average — up slightly from 93 days in September, but down 11.3 percent from a year ago, indicating demand for housing remains strong. Realtor.com rival Zillow reported a similar trend. Continue reading →

Serving you as my client is about creative problem solving! What’s your situation? I can help!

Because of my years of short sale experience, I had the honor of being featured in a recent National Association of Realtors’ article:

“Sure, being known as an expert can set you apart. But if you have to tell people you’re an expert, you probably aren’t one. Here are some tried-and-true tips for practitioners looking to gain the expert advantage…

San Diego-based Data Quick said last Tuesday that Foreclosure Starts or properties entering the foreclosure process are at the lowest point since 2006. See the article-(Click here)

The question is, how valid is this statement? Or is this just a preliminary report, “hiding” the fact that there is still plenty of underwater property being led to the slaughter by the nation’s lenders, albeit in a timely manner so as not to disrupt the housing recovery?

It does make sense that lower unemployment & Real Estate Inventory causing rising values, then mortgage servicers and lenders bending over backwards to keep homeowners in their homes that these numbers are falling to record lows; however the flood waters being held by the dam do continue to swirl, albeit a lot of nervous homeowners wondering what will happen or do next.

It is still, and most likely always, a fact that scams will be out there in real estate – just as in other areas of life.

The basic contexts of scams still remain the same, and the recommendations to figure out if they are or not scams are basically the same as well. A great real estate resource is available here: prevent loan scams link.

A basic step-by-step guide for investigating a possible scam on your own is by contacting a:

1) Real estate professional you know or myself, two opinions are better than one and mine is FREE. 2) Real estate attorney: They traditionally give you a free ½ hour consultation. I recommend this after your interviews with an active licensed Realtor. (Definition of a Realtor below). 3) Real estate accountant that is well-versed in laws of tax liability, as well as mortgage laws.

These are the 3 main points to consider when considering a sale, whether traditional or a short sale.

The definition of Realtor is as follows: they have a designated membership with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and their own state association (In California it’s the California Association of Realtors – CAR), in addition to having a valid Salesperson or Broker license.

It is my opinion that the best person to represent you may not be a Broker after all, because their way of doing business (or amount of business they do) may not be what is best for the client that is choosing due to circumstances of sale, experience, and amount of successful business closed in related situations. There are new ways to make even more money for a seller that most agents do not know about.

Then for buyers, the full-time experienced agents who work mostly with buyers are better to look for, however they are not necessarily the better agent to use. As with the criteria sellers should look for, a buyer will want to make sure the agent they choose is very experienced and the lender they choose has the experience to match the agent, otherwise the buyer will most likely be in for a wildly fascinating ride. Being familiar with areas is also key, including demographics relating to school rankings and crime.

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Heal from Foreclosure

For a Compelling Guide to weaving through ALL the experiences of a hardship with applications for coping personally and with family: having to sell Your Home is unbelievably lightened! Anyone that would never consider selling their home, this is a MUST read.